Ministers welcome Aerojet announcement at Farnborough Airshow

Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company and a world-recognised aerospace and defence leader, is planning to form a European subsidiary called European Space Propulsion to better service the needs of its European customers.

The new company currently plans to be based in Northern Ireland and will work in partnership with Thales based in Belfast.

The Ministers witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Aerojet and Thales at the Farnborough International Airshow, which marked the final planning stages for the new enterprise.

This Memorandum will enable detailed planning to be completed for a new production, research and development and test facilities in advanced space propulsion.

The First Minister said: “I am delighted that Aerojet has given serious consideration to Northern Ireland as the location for its new European Space Propulsion operation. This underlines Northern Ireland’s standing as a centre of aerospace excellence and demonstrates the confidence placed in our local precision manufacturing capabilities by the world’s leading aerospace and defence companies.

“I look forward to observing the progress of the partnership between Aerojet and Thales and to celebrating the success of their new venture.”

Arlene Foster said: “The talents of Northern Ireland’s manufacturing and engineering labour force are held in high esteem across the global aerospace and defence industries and today’s announcement is further evidence of this. Aerojet’s proposed new venture with Thales in Northern Ireland is an exciting prospect which has the potential to deliver significant benefits to the local and national economy.”